Tenugui is a traditional cotton cloth that has been part of everyday Japanese life for centuries. Although its literal translation means "towel", the thinly woven cloth finds use on all sorts of occasions - for wrapping gifts or bento boxes, drying hands or dishes, and as a napkin or table runner.

The Tenugui cloths are hand-dyed and printed using the "Chusen" dyeing technique according to traditional Japanese patterns. The technique, which dates back to the Meiji period (1868-1912), involves dyeing the fabric throughout so that the patterns can be seen on both sides. This makes the cloths very durable and makes them even softer and more beautiful over time.

Each Tenugui shawl is unique, which means that there may be variations from the version shown here.

Care instructions:
Wash separately by hand and do not soak. As each cloth is hand dyed, there may be some colour loss at the beginning. After washing, simply smooth the cloth by hand and let it air dry (not in direct sunlight).

Tenugui cloths are unhemmed at both ends and therefore initially pull threads that can be easily cut off. After about three washes, the thread pulling will subside.

Story

Kamawanu opened his first shop in 1987 in a quiet alley in Tokyo and now has shops all over Japan, stocking over 250 varieties of tenugui at any given time. Kamawanu believes in the ideology of revisiting old to learn new, and has embraced the wisdom of "tenugui", a versatile traditional cloth that can be used for many years and for many different purposes.